


Michael Finds Out

by mcschnuggles



Series: Activating Regression Protocol [3]
Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Caregiver!Michael, Caregiver!Squip, Gen, Non-Sexual Age Play, Regressing!Jeremy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-24
Updated: 2018-09-24
Packaged: 2019-07-14 19:55:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16047449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcschnuggles/pseuds/mcschnuggles
Summary: Jeremy didn't mean to regress at Michael's house, but now that it's happened, he can't exactly take it back.





	Michael Finds Out

            Jeremy’s biggest problem is that he can never say no, and especially not to Michael.

            When Michael caught him after school, it didn’t matter that Jeremy was feeling little and really needed a nap. It didn’t matter that his Squip was scolding him for not being nicer to himself. Michael wanted to hang out, so that’s what they would do.

            He ignored every possible warning his Squip offered. He knew playing a zombie game would only make him scared, but Michael loves zombie games and Jeremy wants to see him happy.

            And to his own credit, he isn’t _that_ much of a baby. He knows zombies aren’t real. It’s just that them jumping out and attacking can be kind of scary, and even then, he’s fine, so long as Michael is beside him, because Michael’s super good at video games and very brave.

            It all comes crumbling down when Michael excuses himself to get snacks.

            “Cover me while I get some chips, Jer,” he says, and he’s gone before Jeremy can say anything.

            Jeremy glances up to see a pixelated zombie jump at the screen and jumps back. By the time the blood-oozing words “You’re dead” fade from the screen, the adrenaline has faded enough for Jeremy to burst into tears.

            The Squip materializes over his shoulder, sounding more inconvenienced than anything. “I knew this would happen.” Through the haze of tears, Jeremy can see him conjuring up information, most likely trying to find a way to work him out of this situation. “Has he even _checked_ the ESRB ratings for these games? Hardly fit for children.”

            Jeremy only cries harder when a warmth spreads over the left half of his face and the thud of a heartbeat fills one ear, like the Squip is holding him against his chest.

            “It’s okay, pumpkin. I’m routing the best escape tactics as we speak.”

            But Jeremy doesn’t _want_ to leave. Well, he does, but he doesn’t want to go to the work of making an escape and booking it. He just wants to curl up in bed and sleep. Besides, he knows there’s no chance of getting away if Michael sees him like this. The Squip curses quietly at the basement door swings open.

            “Jeremy? What’s wrong?” Michael rushes over, snacks forgotten. He hangs back from physically touching Jeremy, knowing how he can be in the throes of a panic attack, but when Jeremy opens his arms, all reservations are gone.

            Jeremy’s senses are immediately overwhelmed by the feeling of actually being held. Sure, the Squip holding him is nice, and if he closes his eyes, there’s no discernible difference, but there’s something so much more comforting about him being able to lift his hands and wrap them around someone else’s shoulders. It also helps that Michael’s extremely warm and smells like Old Spice deodorant.

            With a final shuddery breath, Jeremy snuggles into Michael’s shoulder.

            Michael breathes his own sigh of relief. “There we go.” He’s not sure what got his best friend so freaked out or acting so weird, but he’s trying his best to make sure everything’s okay. He begins to sway, rocking Jeremy ever so slightly. “That’s it.”

            “Jeremy.” The Squip chides. “He’s holding you wrong and that is _not_ how you liked to be rocked. Correct him immediately.”

            But Jeremy can’t bring himself to speak. He can’t even bring himself to freak out. He’s already in too deep, especially after crying, and all that’s really registering is someone that makes him feel safe is holding him.

            He tucks his face into Michael’s shoulder, hiding himself away from the rest of the world. If he closes his eyes tight enough, he could imagine going off to a nap soon. He thinks he’d like that, because he knows Michael would help keep him safe, but at the same time, he knows it’d be weird and that he’s just being hopeful. Michael shouldn’t have to deal with him being weird when his Squip can take care of him just fine.

            Michael pulls away, giving Jeremy one last pat to the shoulder. He still keeps close, though. “You okay now?” Michael asks.

            Jeremy nods, even though he’s already craving another hug.

            “That’s cool. Now,” he keeps his voice down, and it’s so low and deep that Jeremy has to fight melting on the spot. “You wanna tell me what that was all about?”

            Jeremy visibly flinches, and Michael starts backpedaling.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I just really don’t like seeing you so upset, dude.”

            “No, it’s okay.” Jeremy takes a moment to rub at his eyes. It’s now or never, he supposes, but he knows Michael would never hold anything against him. “I just feel… little.”

            “Little?” Michael echoes. “Like, age regression ‘little’?”

            Jeremy starts. “You know?”

            “Yeah. One of my internet friends told me about it one day. It was super brave of her to trust me with it, and I try to help her when she’s not feeling okay. Did something scare you?”

            Jeremy’s face goes red as he points to the television.

            Michael’s eyes go to the television. The death screen is still painted over the screen, bathing the room in a dim red light. “You don’t like zombies?”

            Jeremy shakes his head. “Scary…”

            “Oh, I’m sorry, Jer.” Much to Jeremy’s dismay, Michael stands up to go turn off the game console, but luckily, he comes back and crouches in front of Jeremy. “So how old are you?”

            Jeremy ducks his head and holds up four fingers.

            Michael furrows his brow. “Four, huh? And does your Squip, you know, help with this?”

            Jeremy nods. “Skip helps, but I think he’s mad right now because I wasn’t listening to him.”

            Michael chuckles. “He just wants what’s best for you, Jer.”

            Jeremy shrugs, his eyes straying back to the television. Even though the zombies were scary, he still kind of wants to play again. “Can we play more?”

            “Oh jeez. I think I have some kiddie games somewhere.” Michael pulls away again, and this time Jeremy can’t help letting out a little whine.

            The Squip lets out a small sigh. “At least he knows better than to try it with the zombie games again.”

            Jeremy nods. He’d much rather play some other game, even if he’s too embarrassed to say that out loud.

            “Aha!” Michael pulls out a GameCube and hastily undoes to sets of controllers. “What do you say, Jer Bear? Wanna play Mario Party?”

            Jeremy sniffles. “Can we be on a team together?”

            “Of course we can!” Michael slips his hands under Jeremy’s armpits and attempts to lift him, so that they both collapse into one bean bag chair.

            At the contact, a knot in Jeremy’s chest he hadn’t even known had been there comes undone. For the first time since finding out about his regressive tendencies, he actually feels… happy? Jeremy lays his head on Michael’s shoulder as the game boots up, and he feels a kind of content when Michael lays his head on top of Jeremy’s.

            When they start selecting characters and teams, Michael, of course, goes right for Yoshi, but Jeremy can’t decide who to pick. His eyes trace over the characters. Princess Peach is pretty. She kind of reminds him of Brooke. He selects her character.

            They play a main game, but it’s barely fifteen minutes before Jeremy gets visibly restless and Michael suggests they just play the mini-games instead. There’s clear regret painted over his face after Jeremy picks the same mini-game for the seventh time in a row, but he says nothing, so the Squip supposes he isn’t entirely terrible.

            The rest of the evening goes over peacefully. Jeremy needs a nap before dinner, so Michael takes that time to do homework. Jeremy goes home after dinner, barely managing his own homework before falling asleep.

            He jolts awake to his alarm, launching right into a panic attack.

            “Jeremy!” The Squip takes control of his chest and evens out his breathing, trying to stop the panic attack before it can even start.

            “Michael.” Jeremy gasps out. “Michael. Michael knows. He _knows_!”

            “Yes, and while his behavior was at times irresponsible, I suppose that his overall caregiving ability is passable.”

            “Are you even listening to me? He _knows_!”

            “I don’t understand why you’re upset.” He hates how irritatingly calm his dumb Squip is, like his feelings are stupid and nonsensical. “Michael was very receptive and understanding. With a little instruction, he’ll do wonderfully.”

            “That’s not the point!” Jeremy slumps back against his bed, suddenly feeling tired to his bones. “You promised that no one would know…”

            “Oh, pumpkin.”

            Jeremy jerks his head away to glare in the opposite direction. “I’m not little right now.”

            Something unreadable crosses the Squip’s face. However, he drops the pained sympathetic expression that Jeremy hates to see from him. “My apologies.”

            “Let’s just not talk about it, okay?” Jeremy shuffles out of bed and begins hastily shoving books into his backpack. “I gotta get to school.”

            It’s a good thing he’s caught up on sleep, because today was the hardest day of school he’s had in years.

            Not because he was sick or anxious or Rich was picking on him—in fact, Rich seemed to keep his distance more than even know that he’d had to help Jeremy out when he was regressing at school. No, his big concern of the day was how far he had to go to avoid Michael.

            He knew it wasn’t right, but he couldn’t help it. Even now, he can’t bring himself to look Michael in the eye after… all that. After all, how was he supposed to react now that his best friend knows he’s a weak, sniveling crybaby who’s scared of classic horror games.

            Another problem is that his Squip won’t shut up. He keeps spilling out pointless reassurances that Michael is accepting and kind and sweet. Michael would never hold this against him. Michael just wants to help. Jeremy needs a caregiver that can provide physical comfort when he needs it. He’s touch-starved, after all.

            It was those major statements on a loop, all day, and Jeremy is just about at his breaking point.

            He navigates the halls, watching Jake, Rich, and Christine brush past while paying him no attention at all. Frankly, it’s almost kind of welcome.

            The final bell of the day rings. He’s almost home free. All he has to do is get out of here, and then he’s fine. He almost would’ve made it, but the second he turned to leave, he came face to face with Michael. It was a challenge in itself to look like he wasn’t both startled and very, very afraid to see him.

            “Hey, Michael.”

            Michael rolls his eyes. The irritation is evident in his face. “Come on, man. I can tell you’ve been avoiding me all day.”

            “I haven’t been avoiding you.” If it wasn’t already as obvious lie, Jeremy’s voice pitches up to further prove it.

            “Can we just talk about this?”

            Like a coward, Jeremy checks his surroundings, just to scope out the places he could hide. The bathroom is always an option, and he’s sure that if he talked to Brooke long enough, Michael would let it drop.

            But he can’t really hide anymore, can he? It’s too late anyway. Michael already knows.

            His shoulders slump. “Okay…”

            Michael grins. “We’ll talk about it in the car.”

            As they walk, Jeremy’s Squip materializes over his shoulder. “I’m proud of you, Jeremy,” he says, using his irritating I’m-always-right voice.

            Jeremy ignores him all the way to Michael’s PT Cruiser.

            As Michael starts the car, the anxiety finally starts to settle in. A million worst-case scenarios are flashing through his head, and a wave of nausea rolls over him. Michael wouldn’t ever be mean to him, yeah, but that doesn’t mean he’d want to deal with all this. Once was enough, and Jeremy knows how gross and weird his regression is.

            This is probably just to devise a strategy to make sure Jeremy never regresses around him again, or at least to get him somewhere that he can be someone else’s problem.

            Jeremy starts as a small box is held out in front of him.

            “I got you a gift.” Michael says. “To show I’m serious about this? I…” His voice trails off, and it’s clear even he’s uncomfortable. He puts the car in motion, giving them another excuse not to have to look each other in the eyes. “I noticed you were sucking your thumb when you were sleeping, so I thought this might help?”

            Jeremy’s fingers shake as he lifts the lid of the small box. The Squip appears over his shoulder, leaning so far forward that he nearly blocks Jeremy’s field of vision. “At least it appears to be a NUK 5 pacifier,” he mutters. “I draw the line at him trying to destroy your teeth.”

            Jeremy goes red. As if he’d actually accept it! Still, Michael looks so hopeful, and this is his way of trying to be supportive. “Thanks…” But the longer he stares at it, he can’t help his entire face going red. “I’m not…like that all the time, okay?”

            “Well, obviously. I’m sure no one knows about this or anything. And I just wanted you to know that you can come to me if you needed it, okay?”

            Jeremy keeps his head down. He idly plays with the pacifier in his hands. He’s glad that Michael would think to buy this for him. It makes him feel special, even if he doesn’t need it. It looks fine, and he might like to use it if he ever needed it. Too bad he’d never need it. He’s still happy, though.

            He dares a glance up at Michael. “We can play Mario Party again?”

            Michael chuckles. “I’ll have the GameCube on standby.”

**Author's Note:**

> Visit me at my tumblr!  
> mcschnuggles.tumblr.com


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